These traditional Romanian sweet cheese pastries- Poale in Brau(Branzoaice)- are considered an emblem of the Romanian region of Moldova and its cuisine.
The pastries are traditionally made with salty sheep cheese and served as a snack, with a little bit of sour cream next to them. A glass of dry white wine is also served.
Why Do I Like This Recipe
These are delicious pastries to bake once in a while. Usually, they are made to be consumed as a snack, and the filling is made with salty cheese.
If the pastries are served as dessert, Farmer's cheese is mixed with salty cheese, some sugar, and raisins to make the little pies sweeter.
If sweet, the pastries are also sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sometimes, a little bit of honey is drizzled over them.
As for the wine, if you serve them as a dessert, a sweet, light, red, or rose wine is perfect for them and traditional.
The recipe is so delicious that now it is made not only in Moldova but also in Romania's other regions.
I had them both salty and sweet, and I have to tell you that I loved both versions.
Making authentic ones isn't easy because of the ingredients. The cheese is what makes them unique.
However, I encourage you to make them with the cheese you have available, so you can get a glimpse of what they are.
You might find the recipe intimidating, but it really is not.
Things are pretty easy if you have a stand-up mixer to help you knead the dough.
I used my Kitchen Aid, which I love because it saves a lot of time.
Also, in this recipe, because I used a mixer, most ingredients are incorporated at once, so you don't need to be worried about working with yeast if you don't have much experience.
What kind of cheese to use:
If you live in the United States and would like to make this recipe, look for Farmer's Cheese.
It is a fresh cheese with a small curd, and it is not salty.
In Europe, you will probably find this Farmer's Cheese under the name "cottage cheese."
The closest to this cheese in the US is ricotta, which you can try to substitute. OR, you can make Farmer's Cheese at home, which is easier than you think.
The recipe also has some semolina added to the cheese filling.
The semolina absorbs the cheese's moisture in case it is too wet.
If you make it for the first time, stay true to the recipe and use the ingredients indicated on the list.
These pastries are sweet, as I used Farmer's cheese, a little bit of sugar, and raisins in the filling.
If you want to make them savory, use a good Feta cheese.
You can also mix it with some Farmer's cheese for a milder taste. You will not be sorry!
If you make them, feel free to snap a picture and post it in the comments. I am curious to see what you came up with and if you liked it. Enjoy!
Interested in another delicious snack made with yeast dough? Try the recipe of Mucenici, another traditional Romanian one.
More recipes to love:
Mini Peppers Stuffed With Farmer Cheese
📖 Recipe
Romanian Traditional Sweet Cheese Pastries- Poale In Brau(Branzoaice)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- a pinch of salt
- 1 lemon zest
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups warm milk
- 17.6 ounces Farmer's cheese
- 2 large eggs
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup semolina
Instructions
How to make the dough:
- In a KitchenAid mixer, place flour, egg yolks, butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and yeast. With the dough hook attached at low speed, start mixing the ingredients on low speed.
- Add warm milk little by little to form a dough.
- When the dough is formed, increase the mixer's speed to medium and let the mixer knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
- The dough should be elastic, smooth, and not sticky. Remove the dough from the mixer and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover the dough with plastic foil or a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume.
How To Make The Filling:
- While the dough is rising, prepare the filling.
- Beat well the two eggs and add them to the farmer's cheese. Add vanilla, lemon zest, a pinch of salt, raisins, and semolina. If the cheese mixture is too runny, add another tablespoon of semolina until you get a creamy consistency.
- Mix well to incorporate the ingredients.
How to Make The Pastries:
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Cover the bottom of a baking tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
- After the dough has doubled in volume, sprinkle some flour on the working surface and dump the dough on the table. Split the dough in half.
- Grab half of the dough and roll it with the rolling pin. You should end up with a square approx. 12x12 inches.
- Cut the dough into six equal squares using a knife.
- Place a full spoon of the cheese filling in the middle of a square. Fold two opposite corners towards the middle and press well to make sure they stick together. Then, fold the other two opposite corners so you end up having a pastry that looks like an envelope.
- Place it on the tray and continue the same with the rest of the dough.
- You should have 12 pastries.
- Do not overcrowd the pastries. Place only about six pastries on the tray, as they will quite rise during baking.
- Beat an egg and brush each pastry with it.
- Bake them for about 25-30 mins or until golden brown.
- Remove them from the tray, let them cool on a rack, then sprinkle powder sugar over them. (the powder sugar is optional)
Anonymous says
Ronald James Toma says
My Romanian grandfather used to make us a pastry he called a “scavarette “ it was triangular and fried in lard forming bubbles on top! We would put sugar on them as children! Like a pizza slices size donut! Can you help me with recipe info?
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi, I do not have a recipe on my blog, but I think you refer to "scovergi"(Romanian term for them), a bread dough fried in fat and sprinkled with sugar, as you said. I found a Romanian website that has the recipe, but you will have to use Google translate to figure out the ingredients and how to make them. https://www.lauraadamache.ro/2016/09/scovergi.html. I hope this helps. Awesome memories!
Mara Morey says
Buna, ma bucur ca am gasit acest blog. Am cautat pe google "branzoici" si m-am ales si cu o reteta pentru homemade cheese!!
Sunt din Romania si am venit in America acum un an (pentru prima data, acum 3) si mi-e DOR de tot ce avem in Romania si nu stim sa apreciem pana nu le mai avem, cum e in cazul meu.
Nu am apreciat puii si porcii crescuti de bunica, legumele crescute in gradina de tata, branza de la taran, la care nici nu poti visa in America.
Acum imi pare rau ca nu le-am stiut aprecia cat timp am fost acasa si imi e dor de ingrediente bio care au gust. Acesta este cel mai mare regret al meu.
Am 23 de ani si o viata inainte!
Va pup, keep up the nice work,
Mara
The Bossy Kitchen says
Buna Mara, Si eu ma bucur ca ai gasit blogul meu si sper din toata inima sa gasesti cateva retete interesante pe care sa le faci. Sunt convinsa ca iti vei gasi magazinele si siturile de unde sa iti comanzi produse asemanatoare celor din Romania. Clar mancarea nu este la fel. Eu m-am apucat aici sa imi fac gemuri, zacusca, sa imi pun muraturi, iar restul le-am cumparat de la magazinele locale sau online. Incearca magazinele etnice din zona unde locuiesti, poate mai gasesti cate ceva. Eu m-am adaptat, ca nu am avut incotro. Iti doresc succes si nu te descuraja, solutii exista ca sa-ti creezi universul tau apropiat de cel de acasa. Multumesc pentru vizita si nu ezita sa imi scrii daca ai intrebari.:-)
Mara Morey says
Buna, am sa va scriu aici, pentru ca nu stiu unde altundeva.
As vrea sa fac placinte, dar nu stiu care faina ar fi cea mai potrivita. Stiti dumneavoastra? Ati incercat sa faceti?
Daca nu, ce faina mi-ati recomanda? Multumesc!
The Bossy Kitchen says
Buna Mara, Unde locuiesti? Nu stiu daca vrei sa faci placintele din reteta unde mi-ai scris, pentru ca aici am specificat all purpose flour, faina care se gaseste la orice magazin in Statele Unite. Daca nu locuiesti in SUA, atunci trebuie sa te uiti dupa o faina obisnuita, care se foloseste la orice. Fiecare tara are tipurile ei de faina, de aceea imi e greu sa te sfatuiesc, nestiind unde esti. Daca te afli in Romania, atunci e buna faina care are codul 550 pe punga. Din cate inteleg, este echivalentul fainii americane "all purpose".
Mara Morey says
@The Bossy Kitchen, sunt in New York si stiu ca mi-a spus mama ce foloseste ea acasa in Romania si nu stiam care ar fi echivalentul aici.
Deci all purpose flour would work? Multumesc din nou!
The Bossy Kitchen says
Da, all purpose flour.
Ana Stan says
@Mara Morey, HI Mara, eu sint in America de multi ani si din experienta mea zic ca faina 5 ROSES IS The best,dar si All PURPOSE E OK